The Williams Cos. Inc. has pulled its investment in the Constitution Pipeline project, a 125-mile line proposed to move natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to New York State.
The Tulsa, Okla.-based pipeline giant said in a press release on Feb. 21 that it took the action in consultation with its partners—Duke Energy Corp., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Calgary, Alberta-based AltaGas. The company said in its annual report, released Feb. 20, that the Constitution would suffer a 2019 loss of $354 million. Williams’ 41% stake in the project equates to $145 million.
“While Constitution did receive positive outcomes in recent court proceedings and permit applications, the underlying risk adjusted return for this greenfield pipeline project has diminished in such a way that further development is no longer supported,” the company said in the press statement. “Our existing pipeline network and expansions offer much better risk-adjusted return than greenfield opportunities which can be impacted by an ambiguous and vulnerable regulatory framework.”
Opponents of the project expressed delight.
“We are thrilled to see the fracked gas Constitution Pipeline has finally been canceled,” said Kelly Martin, director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, in a statement. “As people across New York and Pennsylvania have said all along, there was no need for this dirty, dangerous project. Had Williams listened to the impacted communities eight years ago, they could have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in clean, renewable energy sources, instead of wasting it on a fracked gas pipeline that they’ve now abandoned.”
Recommended Reading
E&Ps’ Subsurface Wizardry Transforming Geothermal, Lithium, Hydrogen
2025-02-12 - Exploration, drilling and other synergies have brought together the worlds of subsurface oil drilling and renewable energies.
GA Drilling Moves Deep Geothermal Tech Closer to Commercialization
2025-02-19 - The U.S. Department of Energy estimates the next generation of geothermal projects could provide some 90 gigawatts in the U.S. by 2050.
Superhot Rock Drillers Advance Technology to Rival Oil and Gas
2025-03-23 - Building on synergies with the oil and gas sector, geothermal companies seek to go hotter and deeper to unleash energy.
Oil & Gas, Geothermal Technology Transfer Not a One-Way Street
2025-03-19 - Technologies commonly used in oil and gas are making it cheaper to drill deep into hot reservoirs to generate geothermal power, but the oil sector could also learn from geothermal, panelists say.
Geothermal Player Ormat Adds Capacity as Power Demand Rises
2025-02-28 - Ormat aims to grow its installed capacity to between 2.6 and 2.8 gigawatts by the end of 2028, CEO says.